Effects of Visual Stimuli from Media on the Perception of Dentofacial Esthetics

OBJECTIVES: The study explored whether television commercials change the perception of one's own dentofacial attractiveness and to identify if it is influenced by personality traits. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample included 83 participants, aged 19-27 years. The experimental group (N=42) watched commercials portraying famous young individuals with high smile esthetics, bright teeth and no visible malocclusions, while the control group (N=41) watched neutral commercials (without people or visible teeth). The perception of subjects` own orofacial esthetics and its psychosocial effects were assessed a month before the exposure and immediately after it. The subjects` malocclusion severity and personality characteristics (extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, intellect, self-esteem and perfectionism) were assessed. RESULTS: In their second report, respondents were inclined to report less psychosocial impacts with small differences (ranging from 0-3 scalar points on average) and less significant in the active group compared to neutral group (2 out of 7 vs. 5 out of 7 aspects). Types of visual stimuli were a significant predictor only of changes pertaining to psychological impact of dental esthetics (p=0.045; r=0.221). The intellect moderated perception of smile esthetics, after having been exposed to commercials, accentuated beautiful smiles as a suppressor (ΔR(2)=0.076; p=0.005; total model R(2)=0.347; p=0.033). In subjects with higher cognitive abilities, an increase in the self-perceived malocclusion level induced a smaller decrease in psychological impact of dental esthetics as compared to those with lower intellect. CONCLUSION: Psychosocial influences of malocclusion are not stable and tend to decrease during time. However, the exposure to a high smile esthetic of other individuals can inhibit that process in persons with more severe malocclusion and higher cognitive abilities.